FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT NIGHTCLUB

A Huntington Beach man fell from a Costa Mesa parking structure to his death in the early morning and police have initially ruled the death a suicide, authorities said. The body of James Wellenstein, 35, was found at 1:35 a.m. outside the parking structure at 1901 Newport Blvd., adjacent a nightclub. Evidence suggests Wellenstein had been smoking for considerable amount of time on top the structure, and hand and foot prints show he crawled to the ledge before falling, said Costa Mesa police Sgt. Zack Hoferitza.

With Mardi Gras celebrations just a day away, many Newport-Mesa restaurateurs are finding themselves in a sensitive predicament celebrating the raucous Fat Tuesday just months after Hurricane Katrina. Is it appropriate to honor excess and sin after a natural disaster destroyed most of the celebration's birthplace? Many restaurants have decided to skip Mardi Gras events this year, but a few eateries are pushing forward with celebrations and shifting the focus from debauchery to charity.

Newport Beach city officials will decide today whether to revoke the use permit for a popular sushi restaurant after undercover police officers reportedly observed patrons drinking and possibly using drugs in the parking lot of the restaurant. Fury Rok & Rol Sushi Lounge, 4221 Dolphin Striker Way, is licensed as a restaurant, but a Newport Beach police investigation found evidence the establishment has been promoting itself as a night club, according to Newport Beach Planning Commission documents.

ON THE AGENDA Here are some of the issues the council will consider Tuesday. NIGHTCLUB APPEAL The council will consider an appeal of the Planning Commission's denial of a request to operate a nightclub with live entertainment and dancing between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. at Josh Slocum's Dinner and Supper Club at 2601 W. Coast Highway. This issue first came before the council on June 22. A decision was postponed until July 13, but the appellant, Random Interactive, Inc., asked for more time to explore options in addressing traffic and parking-related concerns and to review a list of calls for service compiled by the Police Department.

Paul Clinton Baby-back ribs and Guinness beer will be added to the menu if a group of San Bernardino restaurateurs successfully open a Tony Roma's and Irish-themed Bennigan's in place of the failed Aysia 101. The Primrose Group of Companies has applied to Newport's planning department to operate the two eateries. Both expect to open in June, about 18 months after the former nightclub shuttered its harbor-side doors. "It's a nice addition to the restaurant mix we enjoy here," said Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce President Richard Luehrs.

With so many friends and family members attending his memorial Friday, countless stories could have been told about Clinton “C.J.” Joseph Hubbard being there for those he loved. But on a gray, drizzly afternoon at San Francisco Solano Catholic Church in Rancho Santa Margarita, Hubbard’s friends and family had to be there for each other. More than 500 in all, they laughingly and tearfully remembered the 27-year-old Corona del Mar resident. He died Nov. 27, a day after a blood vessel inside his brain burst after he was allegedly punched in the head outside a Newport Beach nightclub early Thanksgiving morning.

This corrects an earlier version. Triangle Square is under new ownership. The man who recently bought the Sutra Restaurant and Nightclub at Triangle Square said Tuesday that he has closed escrow to buy the 200,000-square-foot property bounded by 19th Street and Newport and Harbor boulevards for an undisclosed sum. Richard Kelly, Sutra’s owner, said he has big plans to bring the struggling dining and retail center back to...

The San Diego man charged with the sexual assault and killing of Huntington Beach resident Dane Williams is expected to go back to court Tuesday for preliminary trial. Philong Huynh, 39, is charged with killing 23-year-old Williams after allegedly drugging and raping him. He is also charged with an additional count of sexual assault for sodomizing another man. He pleaded not guilty to all charges. Huynh began preliminary trial in San Diego in December for the other case, but the focus will turn to Williams on Tuesday, officials said.